Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction. Beyond Essentialism: Expanding African-American Cultural Criticism -- Part I: What's Going On? Black Popular Culture -- 1. The Culture of Hip-Hop -- 2. Rap Music and Black Culture: An Interview -- 3. Spike Lee's Neonationalist Vision -- Improvisation. On African-American Oral Culture -- 4. Michael Jackson's Postmodern Spirituality -- Improvisation. Luther Vandross, Anita Baker, and the State of Soul -- 5. Be Like Mike?: Michael Jordan and The Pedagogy of Desire -- Improvisation. The Media and American Culture -- 6. Bill Cosby and the Politics of Race -- Improvisation. Gordon Parks: Prometheus in Motion -- 7. Between Apocalypse and Redemption: John Singleton's Boyz N the Hood -- Improvisation. On the Mo' Money Soundtrack -- Part II: Beyond the Mantra: Reflections on Race, Gender, and Class -- 8. Probing a Divided Metaphor: Malcolm X and His Readers -- Improvisation. On Contemporary Black Nationalism: A Response to Gary Peller -- 9. The Liberal Theory of Race -- Improvisation. The Two Racisms -- 10. Racism and Race Theory in the Nineties -- Improvisation. Affirmative Action and the Courts -- 11. Leonard Jeffries and the Struggle for the Black Mind -- Improvisation. Columbus Redux: An African-American Perspective -- 12. Sex, Race, and Class: Two Cases -- Improvisation. Toni Morrison's Vision -- 13. The Plight of Black Men -- Improvisation. Remembering Emmett Till -- 14. Black Grass-Roots Leaders -- Improvisation. The Invisible Lives of Working-Class Black Men -- 15. Reflections on the 1988 Presidential Campaign -- Improvisation. Looking Back on the Eighties -- Part III: This Far by Faith: Black Religion -- 16. Mixed Blessings: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Lessons of an Ambiguous Heroism -- Improvisation. Martin's Death, and Ours? -- 17. Martin and Malcolm.

Improvisation. King: A Metaphor for the Sixties -- 18. For Jonathan's Sake: The Morality of Memory-a Sermon -- Improvisation. James Forbes and Riverside Church -- 19. Rap Culture, the Church, and American Society -- Improvisation. Cornel West's Prophetic Criticism -- 20. "God Almighty Has Spoken from Washington, D.C.": American Society and Christian Faith -- Improvisation. Political Correctness and the Seminary -- 21. The Promise and Perils of Contemporary Gospel Music -- Improvisation. A Skeptic's View of Southern Baptists -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Y -- Z -- Permissions.